Soft canine biscuit containing discrete meat and/or meat by-product particles and method for making same

ABSTRACT

A dry soft canine biscuit having visually apparent, discrete meat and/or meat by-product particles distributes substantially uniformly throughout the biscuit is obtained by blending the non-fat solids portion of a soft biscuit dough with particles which are substantially inert with respect to the biscuit dough, mixing the dry-blended mixture with water plus optional humectant to form an intermediate stage dough, admixing the latter with the fat portion of the biscuit dough to form a final dough, forming the final dough into pieces, and baking and drying the formed pieces to obtain a microbiologically stable product which can be packaged without a barrier material. Meat and/or meat by-product particle inertness is made possible by using particles having: (1) a moisture content of 35 percent by weight or less, and (2) a water activity which is less than the water activity of said soft biscuit dough. The substantial absence of meat particle color bleed into the biscuit principally due to the use of meat products wherein the color is formed as part of the protein matrix. The discrete, visually apparent dehydrated meat particles enhance the palatability and visual attractiveness of the dry biscuit.

This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 341,970,filed on Jan. 22, 1982 U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,164, and is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 549,353, filed on Nov.7, 1983.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a method for incorporating animal protein intoa biscuit dough to obtain a dry, soft canine biscuit. The invention alsorelates to a dry, soft canine biscuit.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Dry pet foods are commonly cereal-type materials having a low moisturecontent of less than about 15 percent by weight. As a result of theirlow moisture content, they resist mold growth and bacterial spoilage.Additionally, they can often be packaged and stored in containers, suchas a box, without the need for hermetic sealing and without the need fora moisture barrier. Dry pet foods typically have low palatabilitybecause of their low moisture content.

The incorporation of meat products, fish products and poultry productsinto a farinaceous pet food to improve palatability and to improvenutritional values of dry pet foods, intermediate moisture products andhigh moisture content pet foods (more than about 50 percent by weight ofwater) is known in the art.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,946,123 discloses an aqueous suspension or broth of meatand meat by-products consisting in part or entirely of fish and flavoredcereal chunks. The meat and meat by-products that may be used includethose of fowl and fish, as well as that of mammal, such as cattle,swine, goats and the like. Due to the high moisture content of theproduct, it must be packaged in cans. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,706 a highmoisture pet food product containing farinaceous and proteinaceouscomponents such as meats, fish and poultry is impregnated with apreservative such as succinic acid to enable packaging within a paper orpolymer film. These high moisture content products have a high shippingweight for a given amount of nutritive value and do not provide a hardsurface for the strengthening of gums and for the removal of plaque fromteeth.

The production dry pet foods which contain proteinaceous and farinaceousmaterial is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,962,462, 4,020,187, 4,039,689,4,055,681, 4,145,447, 4,215,149 and 4,229,485.

In U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,462 the ingredients are first dry-blended andthen water and water-containing ingredients are added until a cohesivedough is formed. A stabilizing system comprising a sugar, an edible acidand an antimycotic provides stability within the pet food when the petfood is subjected to semi-moist conditions. The product is produced inwafer form for packaging with a semi-moist pet food. The proteinaceousmaterial includes meat, such as the flesh of cattle, swine, sheep,poultry and fish, as well as various meals such as meat and bone meal,fish meal and the like.

In U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,187 tallow or lard is added to a water slurry ofa ground mixture of meat and meat by-products to raise the resulting fatcontent of the mixture to at least 25 percent. The resultant mixture isthen homogenized to liquefy and reduce the particle size to uniformlydistribute the fat content through the meat mixture. Dry farinaceousingredients are ground and added to the homogenized meat mixture. Theblended mixture is subjected to a temperature of from 225° to 325° F. ata pressure of at least about 50 p.s.i. The product is expanded, cut anddried to obtain a product having a final moisture content of from 7 to15 percent. The product, it is disclosed, is not externally greasy andmay be packaged in ordinary paper bags or in plastic wrap.

A dry, but soft, pet food is produced in U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,689 usinglow temperatures and pressures. The use of the low processingtemperatures, less than about 130° F., leads to the soft dry nature ofthe pet food, it is disclosed. Meat and meat by-proucts, as well asdried animal by-products, can be used as a protein source for the petfood; in U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,689. The dried animal by-products includemeat and bone meal.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,681, like U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,689, produces a softdry pet food having a meat-like texture and appearance. Meat meal isdisclosed as a protein source and fresh meat and meat by-products areused to impart palatability to the pet food.

In the production of the dry pet food products according to theprocesses of the above patents, the use of wet meat products causesubstantial smearing or blending of the meat into the farinaceousmaterial. It also causes bleeding of the protein colors into thefarinaceous material, which reduces the visual attractiveness of theproduct to the consumer and which reduces the product's hardness.

A hard dry pet food is produced in U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,447. Highpressures of at least about 100 p.s.i. are used to obtain a productwhich is hard enough to provide chew-resistance for the removal ofplaque or tartar from the animal's teeth. The product is a long-lastingone which requires about 30 minutes to 2 hours for a 25 lb. dog toconsume. Dry components are mixed until homogeneous and then sufficientwater is added to wet the product without affecting the apparent dry,free-flowing characteristic of the product. The wetted product is thencompacted, at a pressure of at least 100 p.s.i., followed by heating orbaking the compacted product at a temperature of at least 200° F. Theproduct can contain air-dried, freeze-dried or irradiated foods such asmeat, fish, fish meal, cereals, fruits, vegetables and the like. Proteinfibers, such as those derived from soy protein and wheat gluten, oranimal fibers, such as those derived from skin, muscles, and intestines,are optionally added to support the structure of the product. The animalfibers can be prepared by cutting, chipping, grinding, shredding,shearing or beating animal skins, such as cowhide or rawhide. The highpressures used in the process of U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,447 make theprocess costly. Also, the structure-supporting fibers derived fromanimal tissue, which are optionally used in the process of U.S. Pat. No.4,145,447, are low in palatability. Furthermore, a product havingdiscrete, visually-apparent, meat particles is not disclosed.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,125,149 and 4,229,485 disclose processes for improvingthe palatability of dry pet foods by applying a coating, which containsproteins derived from animals, to the surface of the pet food. In U.S.Pat. No. 4,215,149 the surface of the pet food is treated with fat andthen with a phospheric acid salt. Treatment of the surface of the petfood with meat flavors and animal proteins is optional. Heating of thecoated pet food, it is disclosed, must be avoided.

In U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,485 a dry biscuit is coated with a continuousglazed liver coating and is then baked to less than 18 percent moistureby weight. The liver preferably constitutes at least about 50 percent byweight of the coating, exclusive of moisture. The liver coating containsfarinaceous material and comminuted liver. The hard glazed coating, itis disclosed, has the visual appearance of a meat coating to enhance theproduct's attractiveness to pets. The dry biscuits, to which the livercoating is applied, are obtained by baking a combination of uncookedfarinaceous material and uncooked meat or meat by-products. The use ofthe uncooked meat or meat-products in the form of finely cut flakes,preferably having their largest dimension in the range of 15/1000 inchto 250/1000 inch, it is disclosed, is necessary for obtaining highpalability of the product. However, the use of uncooked meat or meatby-products results in the blending of the protein color into thefarinaceous material. Additionally, the flakes present in the biscuitare not visually apparent because of the liver coating.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,558 teaches producing a dry pet food productcontaining fibrous food pieces having a tough, pliable texture combinedwith a basal matrix containing proteinaceous and farinaceous materialhving a porous texture and appearance. The fibrous food pieces, whichmay simulate vegetables, grains and red meat pieces, comprise denaturedproteinaceous material. The food pieces are blended with undenaturedproteinaceous materials and farinaceous materials. The mixture ismechanically worked under conditions of elevated temperature andpressure and finally extruded to form an expanded dry pet food producthaving a porous texture interspersed with food pieces having a tough,pliable fibrous texture. The mechanical working and forming is basicallydone in a cooker extruder, which utilizes high shear and substantialpressure.

BROAD DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide dry soft canine biscuits havingdiscrete meat and/or meat by-products particles distributedsubstantially uniformly throughout the biscuits. Anothe objective of theinvention is to provide a method for making such dry soft caninebiscuits. A further object of the invention is to provide dry softcanine biscuits and method of producing such biscuits which overcomesthe disadvantages of the above prior art. Other objects and advantagesof the prior art are set out herein or obvious herefrom to oneordinarily skilled in the art.

The objects and advantages of the invention are achieved by the dry softcanine biscuit and the production method of the invention.

According to the invention, there is provided a dry soft canine biscuit,having discrete meat and/or meat by-product particles distributedsubstantially uniformly throughout the soft biscuit. The particles arevisually apparent as discrete particles, do not separate from theremaining, or farinaceous portion of the soft biscuit during shipping,and enhance the palatability of the soft biscuit by providing a flavorimpact. The product is highly stable and can be packaged directly into apaper board box. The method for making the dry soft canine biscuit ofthe present invention is economical, does not involve the use of highpressure and/or high shear to compact the soft biscuit dough as in U.S.Pat. Nos. 4,145,447, 4,229,485 and 4,310,558, avoids substantialbleeding of the animal protein color into the farinaceous material,maintans particle discreteness and achieves substantially uniformdistribution of the particles throughout the soft biscuit. It is notnecessary to use a food grade dye in the particles.

The invention includes a method for making a dry soft canine biscuithaving enhanced palatability and enhances eye appeal. Discrete meamtand/or meat by-product particles are distributed substantially uniformlythroughout the dry soft biscuit and are visually apparent to theconsumer as discrete particles. The presence of meat and/or meatby-product particles substantially above or on the soft biscuit surfaceis kept to a minimum to reduce the opportunity for meat particle lossfrom physical abuse during transit. The particle distribution isaccomplished by first dry-blending the meat and/or by-product particleswith the non-fat solids portion of a soft biscuit dough, admixing thedry-blended mixture with water plus optional humectant and then addingthe fat portion of the soft biscuit dough to form a soft dough. Theinvention process forms the soft dough using low pressure and/orlow-shear (preferably as little pressure and/or shear as possible)forming means or techniques. Alternatively, the water, the optionalhumectant and fat can be admixed simultaneously with the dry-blendedmixture. Visual awareness and biscuit hardness maintenance of the meatand/or meat by-product particles is achieved by using particles whichare inert with respect to the soft biscuit dough. Inertness of the meatand/or meat by-products particles is made possible through the use ofparticles: (a) having a moisture content of 35 percent by weight orless; and (b) having a water activity which is less than the wateractivity of the soft biscuit dough during mixing, if the soft biscuitdough ingredients were mixed without the meat and/or by-productsparticles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The dry, soft canine biscuit of the invention comprises discrete,visually apparent meat and/or meat by-product particles which areuniformly distributed throughout the soft biscuit. The remaining, ornon-meat and/or non-meat by-product particle portion of the soft biscuitis substantially free of meat particle color. The soft biscuits are verystable microbiologically, and can be stored without refrigeration andwithout a packaging barrier material such as plastic film. The softbiscuit can be in various shapes such as square, round, triangular,animal-shaped and the like. The preferred shapes are round, T-bone shapeand a chop or steak-like shape. The soft biscuits can have a thicknesstypical of canine biscuits. A preferred thickness is about 1/2 inch.

The meat and/or meat by-product particles used in the invention can bein the form of specs, flakes, chunks, chips, granules and the like. Theparticles should be of sufficient size so as to be visually apparent tothe consumer as discrete particles when in the soft biscuit of theinvention. Prior to incorporation into the soft biscuit, the meat and/orby-product particles should preferably have a diameter of granulation ofbetween about 1/32 of an inch and 1/2 of an inch. The final soft biscuitwill also have particles approximately in this size range. Mixtures ofparticles within this size range or particles having a given size withinthis range can be used.

Particle visual awareness and biscuit hardness maintenance are achievedby using meat and/or meat by-product particles which are inert withrespect to the soft biscuit. By meat and/or meat by-product particle"inertness" is meant: (a) that the particle does not smear into the softbiscuit dough and retains its integrity through production of the finalproduct; (b) that the meat and/or meat by-product particle color doesnot substantially bleed into the soft biscuit dough; and (c) thatingredients within the meat and/or meat by-product particles do notadversely affect the hardness and microbiological stability of the finalsoft biscuit dough.

Meat and/or meat by-product particle inertness is made possible by usingmeat and/or meat by-product particles having: (1) a moisture content ofabout 35 percent by weight or less; and (2) a water activity which isless than the water activity of the soft biscuit dough during mixing ofthe soft dough, if the soft biscuit dough ingredients were mixed withoutthe meat or meat by-product particles. The lower water activity of themeat and/or meat by-product particles substantially prevents the flow ofwater and protein color from the particles to the soft dough duringmixing of the soft dough ingredients and the particles. Higher moisturecontent and water activity above that of the soft dough would causesmearing of the softer particles into the dough, thereby losing meatand/or meat by-product particle integrity. Also, higher moisturecontents could create hardness reduction the formation of steam pocketswhich turn into air voids upon biscuit leavening. The discreteness ofthe particles is looked in during drying of the soft biscuit dough.

Fresh meat and/or meat by-products can be dehydrated by known methods toachieve a moisture content of less than about 35 percent by weight.Dehydration also reduces the water activity of the meat and/or meatby-products. Generally, fresh beef has a moisture content of about 65percent by weight and a water activity of about 1.0. Dehydrating thefresh meat to a moisture content of about 40 percent results in a wateractivity of about 0.8. Dehydration to about 12 to 20 percent by weightof water results in a water activity for the meat of about 0.7 andlower. Soft biscuit doughs generally have a water activity of about 0.90and above upon completion of mixing of the non-fat solids portion, thewater and the fat portion of the dough. Preferably meat and/or meatby-products having a moisture content of less than or equal to about 20percent by weight are used because they remain shelf stable withoutrefrigeration prior to incorporation into the soft biscuit.

Microbiological stability of the meat and/or meat by-product particleingredient is preferably achieved through a low water activity of 0.70or less. This low water activity is preferably achieved by dehydration.However, the water activity can also be lowered by other processes knownin the art. For example, to reduce the water activity, food additivesconventionally used for this purpose such as glycerin, propylene glycol,salt, corn syrup, sugar and the like can be included in the meat and/ormeat by-product particles in conventional amounts.

Commercially available meats and/or meat by-products having the abovelow water activity can be used for the meat and/or meat by-productparticle ingredient of the invention. Microbiological stability of themeat and/or meat by-products can also be achieved even at wateractivities above 0.70 by the use of antimycotics and/or antibioticsconventionally used in the art for this purpose. Exemplary of theantimycotics which can be used are potassium sorbate, sorbic acid,sodium benzoate and the like. Suitable commercially available meatproducts and/or meat by-products which can be used are those which arestored without refrigeration and are packaged in a film of no more than5 g per sq. cm per 24 hours water vapor transfer rate. The meat and/ormeat by-product particles should also be in compliance with NCRnutritional requirements such as 40 percent minimum protein content.

The substantial absence of meat and/or meat by-product particle colorbleed into the soft biscuit is principally due to the use of meatproducts wherein the color is formed as part of the protein matrix. Inthese meat products the protein is present in its least soluble form,namely denatured and coagulated, and therefore the color is alsoinsoluble. Accordingly, bleeding of the meat protein color into theremaining portion of the soft biscuit cannot take place.

Visual awareness of the meat particles is also effected by using meatproducts having a dark brown denatured meat protein color. Productshaving a denatured meat protein color, as measured by an Agtronreflectance value of 10 or less, contrasts excellently with typicallysoft biscuit doughs to effect visual awareness.

The term "meat" is understood to apply not only to the flesh of cattle,swine, sheep, goats, horses and whales, but also to other sources ofanimal protein, such as poultry and fish. The term "meat by-product"refers to those non-rendered parts of the carcasses of slaughteredanimals, including but not restricted to mammals, poultry and fish, andincludes constituents such as liver, kidney, heart, spleen, tongue,trimmings, lungs and skins, embraced the term "meat by-products" in theOfficial Publication, "Official and Tentative Definitions of FeedIngredients," published by the Association of American Feed ControlOfficials, Inc., (1979), p. 94. The flesh of some animals, such as fishand poultry, may be too light in color to provide sufficient contrastwith the soft biscuit dough so as to enhance visual awareness of themeat particles. In this case, known food colorings can be added to themeat to enhance visual awareness. The meat particles and the meatby-product particles can be used alone or in combination. Each particlecan contain both meat and meat by-products from one or more animals.

The preferred meat and/or by-product particles are particles ofdehydrated cured meat, most preferably from ground beef. Spiced,dehydrated cured meat particles are highly palatable, have an appetizingodor and are particularly preferred for use in the soft canine biscuitsof invention. The preparation of dehydrated cured meat, spiced orunspiced, is well known in the art and does not form a part of theinvention. Suitable dehyrated cured meat is commercially available andis commonly referred to as jerky, jerked beef or jerked meat.

Commercially available, dehydrated cured meat products, which containmore than 35 percent moisture, can be dried in a conventional manner towithin the above moisture content range.

Known soft biscuit dough formulations for the preparation of dry softcanine biscuits can be used in the pproduction of the soft biscuits ofthe invention. As indicated above, these soft doughs generally have awater activity of about 0.90 and above upon completion of mixing of thesoft dough ingredients. A suitable dough contains at least onefarinaceous material, the predominant one being glutenous, salt, animalfat, flavorings, added vitamins and minerals and an antioxidant, such asthose disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,485 at column 5, lines 7 to 25and 37 to 57, a humectant such as sugar, propylene glycol, glycerin,sorbitol and corn syrup, and chemical leavening. The compositions of theinvention also preferably contain at least one animal-derivedproteinaceous meal such as meat meal, bone meal and fish meal. Apreferred soft biscuit dough for producing the soft biscuits of theinvention contains about 40 to about 50 percent by weight of wheatflour, and about 10 to about 15 percent by weight of sugar (e.g.,sucrose), about 5 to 15 percent by weight of humectant, about 3 to about10 percent by weight of meat meal, about 1 to about 5 percent by weightof chemical leavening, about 1 to about 10 percent by weight of animalfat preserving with BHA, about 15 to about 25 percent by weight ofwater, and about 2 to about 5 percent by weight of natural flavors, andvitamin and mineral preblend. More generally, useful soft biscuit doughscan contain about 15 to about 35 percent by weight of water, about 0.5to about 10 percent by weight of fat and about 5 to about 20 percent byweight of sugar. Use of the humectant is optional, but is preferred toenhance the softness of the product and to effect less breaking force.Suitable humctants are known in the art and include glycerin, sorbitor,propylene gylcol, corn syrup and sugar. Chemical leavening, known in theart, can be used. Illustrative thereof is calcium acid phosphate withsodium bicarbonate and/or ammonium bicarbonate.

The relative amount of the meat and/or meat by-product particles and thesoft biscuit dough should be such as as to result in a dry soft biscuitproduct wherein the weight percent of the particles is about 3 to about15 percent by weight, preferably about 5 to 10 percent by weight, of thefinal dry, soft biscuit product. Compliance to NRC nutritionalrequirements is enhanced by even these low levels of the 40 percentminimum protein meat and/or meat by-product particles. Lower or higherlevels of the meat particles can be used provided biscuit integrity ismaintained, the meat particles do not extend appreciably above thesurface of the soft biscuit so to separate from the soft biscuit duringshipment, the final product remains visually attractive to the consumer,and the product is economical to produce.

In producing the dry, soft canine biscuit of the invention the meatand/or meat by-product particles are blended with the solid non-fatportion of the soft biscuit dough. By incorporating the meat particlesinto the solid non-fat portion of the soft biscuit dough, the meatparticles are distributed substantially uniformly throughout the finalsoft biscuit product. The portion of the particles at the surface of thesoft biscuit are visually apparent as discrete particles. Particlessubstantially below the surface, however, are also of sufficient sizeand integrity to be visually apparent as discrete particles uponbreaking the soft biscuit in two, for example.

All mixing can be done at 20 to 100 rpm. The dry-blending step istypically conducted at room temperature for a period of time of about 3minutes to about 10 minutes so as to obtain a uniform mixture of themeat and/or meat by-product particles and non-fat portion of the softbiscuit dough. The dry-blended mixture is then mixed with the hot waterplus the optional humectant to form a first stage soft dough. Thismethodology minimizes the occurrance of meat and/or meat by-productparticles substantially above and on the final soft biscuit surface. Asa result, the opportunity for meat and/or meat by-product particle lossfrom physical abuse during transit is reduced. The water is admixed withthe dry-blended mixture and is typically at a temperature of about 65°to about 150° F. The hot water is added, with mixing, over a period oftime of about 3 minutes to about 5 minutes form the first stage softdough. Then the fat portion of the soft biscuit dough is admixed withthe first stage soft dough to form the final stage soft dough. The fatportion is added at a temperature at which it is at least fluid,typically at about 100° to about 150° F. The fat portion is mixed for aperiod of time which is sufficient to form a soft dough whosehomogeneity is visually apparent. A typical final mixing time is about 3minutes to about 8 minutes.

Formation of the soft dough is achieved at about atmospheric pressurewith mixing of the components being conveniently achieved in an uprightsigma blade mixer or other bakery-type mixers. The various ingredientscan be added over a period of time or in a one-shot manner according tothe above order of addition. However, melted fat and water can be addedsimultaneously and mixed 6 to 12 minutes.

The soft dough is then formed into pieces by horizontal or verticalextrusion followed by cutting. The cutting is preferably substantiallyperpendicular to the direction of flow of the extruded soft dough. Thus,when horizontal extrusion is utilized, the extruded soft dough ispreferably cut substantially perpendicular to the top surface of theoven band. When vertical extrusion is used, the extruded soft dough iscut preferably substantially parallel to the top surface of the ovenband. Suitable die and cutter shapes are those which result in a round,square, rectangular, triangular, tubular, or cylindrically shaped softbiscuit product and the like. The forming is accomplished atconventional temperatures of ambient to 110° F. and pressures of lessthan 75 p.s.i. (gauge), used with a horizontal or vertical extruder. Anessential or critical feature of the invention is that the forming ofthe soft dough pieces is done using low shear and/or low pressureforming or techniques. High shear or high pressure forming will decimateor smear the meat and/or meat by-product particles and/or will causebleeding or running of any dye used in the particles. The formingpressure is less than 75 p.s.i.g.

Non-cooking forming conditions herein means that the forming is achievedat a temperature whereby none of the protein in the hard dough materialis denatured and none of the starch in the hard dough material isgelatinized. Low-shear forming conditions herein means that forming isachieved at 25 sec.⁻¹ or less. (High shear herein means greater than 25sec.⁻¹, which excludes the use of high-shear cooker extruders in theinvention.) See Rossen & Miller, "Food Extrusion", Food Technology, Aug.1973, pages 46 to 53, especially page 52.

The formed pieces are then baked, followed by drying, to achieve a shelfstable product without the need of a moisture barrier protection. Bakingand drying temperatures and times are those conventionally used in theproduction of a dry, soft canine biscuit. The pieces are dried to obtaina soft biscuit having a water activity of 0.70 or less. Tyfpical bakingtemperatures and times are about 300° F. to about 475° F. for about 25minutes to about 8 minutes. Drying conditions are typically about 200°to about 325° F. for about 25 minutes to about 12 minutes in a forcedair dryer. On a weight basis, the moisture content of the final biscuitproduct is less than or equal to about 15 percent by weight andpreferably about 10 to about 12 percent by weight of the final softbiscuit at 70 percent relative humidity.

The hardness of the final soft biscuit of the invention as measured in acracking test on a Dillon dynameter should be about 5 to about 15 lbs.for a 1/2 inch thick sample using a pin-point tester having a 3/32 inchdiameter tip. The tip has a concave bottom with a maximum depth of 1/16inch. In this test, the hardness reading in pounds is linearlyproportional to the sample thickness. Thus, a 1/4 inch thick sampleshould have hardness of about 3 to 8 lbs. A hard biscuit, as opposed tothe soft biscuit of the invention, would have a Dillon dynamometerhardness value of about 30 to about 50 lbs for a 1/2 inch thick sample.

The invention is further illustrated in the following examples whereinall percentages, parts, ratios and proportions are by weight and alltemperatures are in °F., unless otherwise stated herein or otherwiseobvious herefrom to one ordinarily skilled in the art.

EXAMPLE 1

In this example, spiced dehydrated cured beef granules having a moisturecontent of about 15 percent by weight, a granulation between 1/32 of aninch and 1/2 inch, and having a dark brown denatured meat protein colorof Agtron reflectance value of 10 or less were used. Spiced dehydratedcured meat granules were obtained by granulating dehydrated cured meathaving the composition:

    ______________________________________                                        Dehydrated Cured Meat                                                                            Pounds                                                     ______________________________________                                        Meat By-Products   650                                                        Meat               268                                                        Natural Flavors    1                                                          Spices             29                                                         Cure (Sodium Nitrite)                                                                            1                                                          Potassium Sorbate  0.5                                                                           949.5                                                      ______________________________________                                    

Then, 50 lbs of the spiced dehydrated cured meat granules were combinedwith the non-fat solids portion of a soft biscuit dough, the fat portionof the soft biscuit dough and water plus humectant to from a soft doughin accordance with the process of the invention. The ingredients,amounts, and the process for making the soft biscuits were:

    ______________________________________                                        Biscuit and Meat Chips Pounds                                                 ______________________________________                                        Wheat Flour (soft flour of                                                                           400                                                    about 9% by weight protein)                                                   Sugar                  117                                                    Glycerin (humectant)   100                                                    Dehydrated Cured Meat  50                                                     Skim Milk Powder       16                                                     Meat Meal              36                                                     Chemical Leavening     17                                                     Salt                   4                                                      Animal Fat Preserved with BHA                                                                        75                                                     Natural Flavors        33                                                     Vitamin and Mineral Preblend                                                                         18                                                     Color                  1                                                      Water                  200                                                                           1067    pounds                                         ______________________________________                                    

The dehydrated cured meat was dry-blended with the solid non-fat portionof the soft biscuit dough in an upright sigma blade mixer at 20 rpm for10 minutes. Then the 200 pounds of water, at a temperature of 150° F.,plus the 100 lbs of glycerin at an ambient temperature were addedtogether with 140° F. fat to the preblend and mixed for 6 minutes toform the soft dough. The soft dough was then machined on a horizontalextruder through dies measuring 3/8 inch in diameter followed byvertical cutting into 11/4 inch length cylinders. The formed pieces werethen baked in a band oven for 8 minutes followed by drying at 250° F.for 20 minutes in a band dryer to achieve a dry, soft shelf stableproduct having a Dillon dynamometer hardness reading of about 4 to 11for the 3/8 inch thick sample. The baking temperatures in the band ovenwere:

    ______________________________________                                        Band Oven                                                                     Baking Temperatures                                                                              Zone                                                       ______________________________________                                        .sup.    530° F.                                                                          1                                                          530°        2                                                          550°        3                                                          300°        4                                                          300°        5                                                          300°        6                                                          Off                7                                                          Off                8                                                          Off                9                                                          ______________________________________                                    

The dry, soft, dog biscuit product was dump-packed into a carton withoutthe need for moisture barrier protection. The hardness tests on theproduct were performed using a Dillon dynamometer as described above.

EXAMPLE 2

A Greusot Loire BC72 cooker extruder, having a 1000 mm barrel, twobarrel heaters and cooling means, was used. A base formulae or mixturewas mixed in a dry ribbon blender and then passed to the cookerextruder. The base formula, on a per batch basis, was:

    ______________________________________                                        Ingredients           Amount                                                  ______________________________________                                        Salt                  13 oz.                                                  Natural flavors       1 lb.                                                   Wheat flour           60 lbs.                                                 Fine granular sugar   9 lbs. 8 oz.                                            Wheat germ meal       1 lb.                                                   Skim milk powder      1 lb.                                                   Tallow                1 lb.                                                   Total                 74 lbs. 5 oz.                                           ______________________________________                                    

All of the ingredients except the tallow was screened through a U.S. No.10 Mesh screen. Beef jerky was used which went through a U.S. No. 4 Meshscreen and stayed on a U.S. 8 Mesh screen. All of the dry blend (baseformula) was dry blended in the ribbon blender for 10 minutes. Dependingon the particular experiment, various amounts of beef jerky particleswere added to the mixture and the mixture was dry blended in a Hobartmixer. The tallow was then added to the subsequent mixture, followed byfurther dry blending to achieve a uniform mass.

The specifics of the beef jerky granules were as follows:

    ______________________________________                                                                           Amount of                                                                     Oil                                                               Water Content                                                                             Sprayed                                    Experiment No.                                                                          Amt. of Jerky                                                                              of Jerky    in Jerky                                   ______________________________________                                        S-1E      None         --          --                                         S-2E      4 lbs. 12 ozs./                                                                            25%         1%                                                   74 lbs. 5 ozs.                                                                of base formula                                                     S-3E      4 lbs. 12 ozs./                                                                            25%         1%                                                   74 lbs. 5 ozs.                                                                of base formula                                                     S-4E      9 lbs. 8 ozs./                                                                             35%         1%                                                   74 lbs. 5 ozs.                                                                of base formula                                                     S-2E + B  17 gm/273 gm. of                                                                           25%         None                                                 base formula                                                        ______________________________________                                         Notes:                                                                        (a) S means base formula according to the abovecited ingredient portions.     (b) B means baking in a reel oven.                                            (c) E means extrusion                                                         (d) The oil sprayed on the jerky granules to simulate the preferred           teaching in Nahm, but the oil did not prevent jerky granules from being       decimated by the highshear extrusion or from being torn apart upon exitin     from the extruder dye as the dough product expanded.                     

The control (S-1E) and the three experiments representing U.S. Pat. No.4,310,558, Nahm (S-2E, S-3E and S-4E) were subjected to high shearcooker extrusion after dry blending. The data on the extrusion:

    ______________________________________                                               Extruder     Extruder         Percent                                  Material                                                                             Pressure     Screw    Extrudate                                                                             Added H.sub.2 O                          Extruded                                                                             Die          Speed    Temp.   in Extruder                              ______________________________________                                        S-1E   170 to 180 psig                                                                            180 rpm  168° F.                                                                        10                                       S-2E   170 to 190 psig                                                                            275 rpm  150° F.                                                                        13                                       S-3E    7 to 43 psig                                                                              295 rpm  160° F.                                                                        20-22                                    S-4E   168 to 190 psig                                                                            260 rpm  166° F.                                                                        11                                       S-4E-1  54 to 74 psig                                                                             260 rpm  --      16                                       ______________________________________                                         Note:                                                                         Most of the extrudate temperatures were over 160° F., which is at      least sufficient to denature the protein. The material in the extruder wa     at a higher temperature because there was a flash off of the water as it      exited from the extruder.                                                

Further data on the extrusion was:

    ______________________________________                                               Extruder                                                               Material                                                                             Barrel     Extruder   Extruder                                                                              Rate of                                  Extruded                                                                             Heaters (2)                                                                              H.sub.2 O Coolant                                                                        Die Opener                                                                            Extrudate                                ______________________________________                                        S-1E   161°, 138° F.                                                              112° F.                                                                           3/8" × 3/16"                                                                    6.5 lb/min                               S-2E   161°, 140° F.                                                              115° F.                                                                           3/8" × 3/16"                                                                    --                                       S-3E   161°, 141° F.                                                              120° F.                                                                           3/8" × 3/16"                                                                    --                                       S-4E   150°, 120° F.                                                              114° F.                                                                           3/8" × 3/16"                                                                    6.5 lb/min                               S-4E-1 150°, 110° F.                                                              100° F.                                                                           3/8" × 3/16"                                                                    --                                       ______________________________________                                    

More data on the extrusion and drying was:

    ______________________________________                                                                       Drying the                                     Material                                                                              Cutter Blade                                                                              Extruder   Extrudate                                      Extruded                                                                              Setting     Drive Load Temp.  Time                                    ______________________________________                                        S-1E     9          53 amps.   200° F.                                                                       1.5 hrs.                                S-2E     9          49 amps.   200° F.                                                                       1.5 hrs.                                S-3E    10          42 amps.   200° F.                                                                       1.5 hrs.                                S-4E    10          42 amps.   200° F.                                                                       1.5 hrs.                                S-4E-1  10          36 amps.   200° F.                                                                       1.5 hrs.                                ______________________________________                                         Note:                                                                         The extrudates were dried in a Proctor Schwartz                          

The invention was represented by experiment S-2E+B. The water contentand the dough was 32 percent. Extrusion was done in a low shear extruder(i.e., a meat grinder, "Kitchen Aid Grinder", with blades) using a dieopening of 0.5 inch diameter. The manual cut off was 1 to 1.5 inch. Thetemperature of the extrudate was 90° F. and the actual pressure at theexit point at the back of the die was 15 to 20 p.s.i.g. The temperatureof the dough processed in the low shear extruder never exceeded 105° F.and accordingly was not cooked in the low shear extruder. The extrudedmaterial was then baked in a reel oven at 350° F. for 36 minutes.

The pet food poeces prepared by the several experiments had thefollowing characteristics:

    ______________________________________                                                                     Agtron Color                                                                  (lower reading                                   Experiment                   means a darker                                   Number  Sensory Observations color)                                           ______________________________________                                        S-1E    Off white, relatively smoothe                                                                      66                                                       surface. Some pock marks                                                      noted on surface regions.                                             S-2E    Very light tan; relatively                                                                         57.5                                                     smooth surface. Some pock                                                     marks noted on surface                                                        regions. A few random,                                                        reduced size (-10 mesh)                                                       particles visible throughout.                                         S-3E    Very light tan; relatively                                                                         54.5                                                     smooth surface. Some pock                                                     marks noted on surface                                                        regions. A few, random,                                                       reduced size (-10 mesh)                                                       particles visible throughout.                                         S-4E    Tan; relatively smooth surface.                                                                    --                                                       Some pock marks noted on surface                                              regions. A few randon, reduced                                                size (-10 mesh) particles visible                                             throughout.                                                           S-4E-1  Brown and tan. No definition.                                                                      --                                                       Gnarled, porous mass.                                                 S-2E + B                                                                              Light, golden, brownish tan;                                                                       --                                                       discrete, non-smeared, large                                                  jerky particles on the surface;                                               there was good jerky granule                                                  integrity. Smooth surface                                                     with some very small inden-                                                   tations. No visible porosity.                                         ______________________________________                                    

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for making dry soft canine biscuitshaving discrete meat and/or meat by-product particles distributedsubstantially uniformly throughout comprising:(a) dry blending particlescontaining meat and/or meat by products as substantial components withnon-fat solids containing farinaceous material and added sugar, saidparticles having a moisture content of less than or equal to about 35percent by weight and being present in an amount sufficient to provideparticles visible on the surface of said by soft canine biscuits; (b)admixing about 20 to 30% by weight water with said dry blended mixtureto form a first stage soft dough; (c) mixing about 0.5-10% by weight fatwith said first stage soft dough to form a final soft biscuit dough; (d)forming said final soft dough into pieces under low shear, non-cookingforming conditions; and (e) baking and drying said pieces to form drysoft biscuits,wherein the water activity of said particles in step (a)is less than the water activity of said final soft dough obtained byadmixing said non-fat solids, said fat and said water without saidparticles, and whereby dry, biscuits are produced having discretevisually-apparent meat particles distributed substantially uniformlythroughout and embedded in the surface of said dry soft canine biscuits.2. A method for incorporating meat and/or meat by-product particles intoa soft biscuit dough to form dry soft canine biscuits comprising;(a) dryblending particles containing meat and/or meat by-product as substantialcomponents and having a moisture content of less than or equal to about35 percent by weight with non fat solids, said particles having a wateractivity which is less than the water activity of said soft biscuitdough, said particles being present in an amount sufficient to provideparticles visible on the surface of said dry soft canine biscuits, saidnon-fat solids containing farinaceous material and added sugar; (b)admixing about 20 to 30% by weight water with said dry blended mixtureto form a first stage soft dough; (c) mixing about 0.5 to 10% by weightfat with said first stage soft dough to form a final soft biscuit dough;(d) forming said final soft dough into pieces under low shear,non-cooking forming conditions, there not being any substantial smearingof said particles in said first stage soft dough or said final stagesoft dough; and (e) baking and drying said pieces to form dry softbiscuits,whereby the water activity of said dry soft biscuits is 0.70 orless and whereby said dry, soft biscuits are produced having discretevisually-apparent meat particles distributed substantially uniformlythroughout and embedded in the surface of said dry soft canine biscuits.3. In a method for making dry soft canine biscuits from a final softbiscuit dough, the improvement comprising:(a) admixing particlescontaining meat and/or meat by-product as substantial components andhaving a moisture content of less than or equal to about 35 percent byweight of the particles and a water activity of 0.70 or less withnon-fat solids to form a substantially homogeneous dry blended mixture,said particles being present in an amount sufficient to provideparticles visible on the surface of said dry soft canine biscuits, saidnon-fat solids containing farinaceous material and added sugar; (b)admixing about 20 to 30% by weight water with said dry blended mixtureto form a first stage soft dough; (c) mixing about 0.5-10% by weight fatwith said first stage soft dough to form said final soft biscuit dough;(d) forming said final soft biscuit dough into pieces under low-shearnon-cooking forming conditions at a pressure less than 75 psig whichmaintains the discreteness of said particles; and (e) baking and dryingsaid pieces to form said dry soft biscuits, which are shelf stable,whereby said dry, soft biscuits are produced having discretevisually-apparent meat particles distributed substantially uniformlythroughout and embedded in the surface of said dry soft canine biscuits.4. The method as claimed in claim 3 wherein said meat and/or meatby-product particles are present in step (a) in an amount of about 3 toabout 15 weight percent, based on the total weight of said dry softcanine biscuit.
 5. The method as claimed in claim 3 wherein said waterand said fat portion in steps (b) and (c) are added simultaneously tothe dry mixture of step (a).
 6. The method as claimed in claim 3 whereinthe particles of step (a) are shelf stable meat particles.
 7. The methodas claimed in claim 3 wherein the particles of step (a) have a moisturecontent of less than or equal to about 20 percent by weight of theparticles.
 8. The method as claimed in claim 3 wherein said pieces ofstep (d) are dried to a moisture content of 10 to 12 percent weight ofthe biscuit.
 9. The method as claimed in claim 3 wherein said softbiscuits have a hardness equivalent to a reading of 5 to 15 lbs. for abiscuit having a thickness of about 1/2 inch measured on a Dillondynamometer having a pinpoint tester with a 3/32 inch diameter tiphaving a concave bottom.
 10. The method as claimed in claim 3 whereinsaid particles have a granulation of between about 1/32 inch and about1/2 inch.
 11. The method as claimed in claim 3 wherein said particlescomprise spiced dehydrated meat particles.
 12. The method as claimed inclaim 11 wherein said particles have a dark brown denatured meat proteincolor of Agtron reflectance value of 10 or less.
 13. The method asclaimed in claim 3 wherein said particles are spiced, dehydrated, curedmeat granules.
 14. The method as claimed in claim 3 wherein the waterwhich is admixed with the dry blended mixture is at a temperature ofabout 65° to about 150° F.
 15. The method as claimed in claim 14 whereinthe fat portion of the soft biscuit dough is added at a temperature ofabout 100° to about 150° F.
 16. The method as claimed in claim 14wherein said dry blending is for a period of time of about 3 minutes toabout 10 minutes, the dry blended mixture is mixed with water for aperiod of time of about 3 minutes to about 5 minutes, and wherein saidmixing of the fat portion is for a period of time of about 3 minutes toabout 5 minutes.
 17. The method as claimed in claim 14 wherein saidforming of said final soft dough into pieces is on a horizontal extruderfollowed by cutting.
 18. The method as claimed in claim 14 wherein saidpieces are formed by vertical extruding followed by cutting.
 19. Themethod as claimed in claim 18 wherein said pieces are cut substantiallyperpendicular to the direction of the flow of the extruded dough. 20.The method as claimed in claim 14 wherein said pieces are dried toobtain a soft biscuit having a water activity of 0.70 or less.